Openings in Chess

While studying the opening courses, The GM's Openings Laboratory and The GM's Openings Laboratory 2, students sent me their questions. I've prepared a detailed answer to every query.

• In reply to questions about general opening rules, I've recorded a couple of video lessons (with additional rules and explanations).
• As for specific opening questions, I've added more *.pgn files (chess databases) with specific lines, analyses, instructive games, etc.

• You will get answers to most of your opening questions.
• It will help you to digest fully the opening rules...

Advance your opening play to the level of Masters and Grandmasters! Learn the general principles of opening play. Get a powerful opening repertoire.

What determines your WIN/LOSS in a chess game? Whether or not you win or lose is determined by your opening preparation, your middlegame skills, and your endgame technique. At the same time, the opening phase is MORE important because if you don't play it well, you will lose sooner than you can demonstrate your middlegame/endgame skills.

How do you play an opening properly? In order to play the opening properly, a lot of people believe that...

Do you want to win chess games before they even begin? Then this chess course was designed for you.

It will give you a complete opening repertoire on the GM's level and will make your pre-game preparation extremely effective. There is no guarantee that you will always win, but with this course your chances are guaranteed higher.

In modern chess, computers have made opening preparation a very powerful and even decisive factor. Strong players spend most of their training time on opening analysis. There are serious reasons for doing that. Every chess player can recollect the following situation: ...

The Scandinavian: A Complete Chess Opening Repertoire Against 1.e4 is a chess ebook targeting the whole range from beginners up to masters.

The Scandinavian Defense is favored by a large number of grandmasters and has often been employed as a surprise weapon by a number of high-class players. Indian Grandmaster and World Champion Viswanathan Anand used it against Garry Kasparov in their 1995 PCA World Championship match. Anand managed to equalize out of the opening, but he faltered later on.

Perhaps the greatest exponent of the Scandinavian was Australian Grandmaster Ian Rogers, who used it to rock...

Steinitz having elevated chess to a science starts out very systematical and explains movement, mode of capture and the value of the various pieces. The bulk of the book is an analysis of six openings: The Ruy Lopez, Double Ruy Lopez, The Scotch Gambit, The Two Knight's Defence, Petroff's Defence and Philidor's Defence. He concludes with all 17 games played in the match Steinitz - Tchigorin, Havana 1889, which was won by Steinitz.

Steinitz also started to write part 2.

1st edition 1889; 237 pages.

In this second part of Steinitz's masterly written work only section 1 appeared. It describes Ponziani's opening and Giuoco Piano.

Go here for part 1.

1st edition 1895; 78 pages